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Is it ever OK to be less than truthful with drivers during the recruiting process?
Quote of the Day
"Management is nothing more than motivating other people."
-- Lee Iacocca
Drivers Sound Off
If you've been a recruiter for any length of time, you've heard the complaint from disgruntled hires: Recruiters will do anything, including lie, to get drivers to sign on the dotted line. While it's difficult to ascertain fact from fiction behind closed doors during the recruiting/interview process, in a buyer's market, it's probably safe to say that recruiters tend to paint a somewhat rosy picture and job-hopping prospects tend to hear what they want to hear, all of which tends to lead to problems down the road.
With that as a backdrop, Over the Road and Pro Trucker magazines put the following question to drivers:
Has a driver recruiter ever been less than honest with you?
While it should come as no surprise that the drivers in our sample come down a little hard on recruiters, it never hurts to hear what those on the other side of the table really think once the interview is over. Here are some of the responses:
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Robert Miller, 56, Mount Pleasant, IA Professional driving experience: 33 years "Well, yes. They tell you you'll get an extra penny a mile over here, and then when you go through what they'll actually do, you find out that they aren't going to pay you for this over here anymore. We used to get paid $25 for loading, but now it was only going to be $15. They say it's a better deal because of that extra penny, but nothing is going to change as far as the paycheck is concerned. They must think we're stupid." |
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Larry Harrison, 58, Shelby, OH Professional driving experience: 35 years "You mean, do recruiters lie? Hmmm. I would say, to a certain extent, yes. They want drivers to come to their company even if it's just for a little while, because that's how they're going to make their money. If it takes a little lie to do that, sure, they'll do it. They'll lie." |
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Merlyn Bender, 62, Canton, OH Professional driving experience: 30 years "Well, I don't think recruiters really know what's going on out there. They may think they're being honest and truthful with you, but what they tell you based on that piece of paper in front of them and what's really happening out there on the road are usually two different things." |
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Jeff Ives, 44, Coon Rapids, MN Professional driving experience: 20 years "Let's just say a lot of companies project false hopes for the drivers that are not realistic when you sign up with them. They promise you the world and they don't deliver. So yes, recruiters lie, absolutely. Why? To fill seats." |
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Herschell "Hershey Bar" Gordon, 47, Findlay, OH Professional driving experience: 20 years "Yes, of course, but most of them work for big companies and have lots of truck cabs to fill. I've never really worked for a large company. I've always been more of an independent and worked for small companies because that’s important to me. I don't want to be a nobody. When I call in, I want them to know my voice. When you work for an outfit with 5,000 drivers, that's impossible, no matter what recruiters tell you. Recruiters are doing what they get paid to do -- get recruits to sign up. It was the same thing when I joined the Army." |
